Jaya calls for referendum on separate homeland for SL Tamils

Stepping up pressure on the UPA government on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, Tamil Nadu on Wednesday demanded that India move a resolution in the UN Security Council for a referendum for separate Tamil Eelam and stop calling Colombo a friendly nation.

The Tamil Nadu Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Centre to slap economic embargo on Colombo till the "suppression" of Tamils was stopped and those responsible for "genocide and war crimes" faced an international probe.

Moving the resolution, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said the ongoing students protest was reflective of her government's initiate on the Sri Lankan issue even as she requested them to withdraw the stir and resume classes.

Launching a tirade against the Centre and DMK, she alleged that both had "failed" to ensure ceasefire in 2009 when hostilities were at the peak in Sri Lanka.

She charged DMK supremo Karunanidhi with adopting "duplicity" on the issue and said people were aware of it. Her remarks drew vociferous protests from DMK members.

Speaker P Dhanapal ordered for eviction of agitated DMK members when his plea for restoration of order in the House went unheeded.

Launching a frontal attack on the DMK, Jayalalithaa accused Karunanidhi of not doing anything for the Lankan Tamils when his party was in power at the Centre and in the state and after losing power he revived the TESO.

"Karunanidhi is now trying to show that he has done a big sacrifice by coming out of the Central ministry on the issue of Sri Lankan Tamils", she said.

Jayalalithaa asked why the DMK chief was silent on his party leader T R Baalu continuing as Chairman of a railway committee and his son M K Alagiri meeting Prime Minister, the Congress President and the Union Finance Minister after he had resigned.

Pointing out that senior DMK leader K Anbazhagan had said that DMK would not topple the government at the Centre, she said "by looking at Karunanidhi remaining silent, it looks like that he will not like to snap ties with the Centre".